


The Metaverse Is Not The End

by Cosmichumor



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Action, Adventure, Akira and Makoto's less bizarre adventures, F/M, Romance, WIP, and everything in between
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27464440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmichumor/pseuds/Cosmichumor
Summary: The Phantom Thieves may have lost their powers, but they are still dedicated to finding ways to battle corruption, abuse, and the evils of society. As Joker and Makoto decide to go on their own vigilante mission, they find more than they bargained for, and learn new things about the world and each other.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto
Kudos: 15





	1. The Queen and the Thief Reunite

“So tomorrow’s the day.” 

Makoto turned away from the last box of her now emptied room. “That’s right.” she answered. “Moving tomorrow. College starts next week.” Tokyo U wasn’t that far away but Sae had decided another apartment closer to campus would be best for her to be able to focus on her studies without worrying about a commute. It was a pretty sudden decision, but Makoto had never been someone with too ostentatious a lifestyle so packing wasn’t much of a problem.

“It’s going to be lonely here without you, Makoto.” Sae said. “I might even actually end up going drinking with the others after work.”

“Oh jeez, sis.” Makoto said. “Please don’t do that. One of them’s going to fall in love with you.”

“That would be a tragedy, wouldn’t it?’ Sae said, with a small chuckle.

Makoto couldn’t help but notice the chuckle. Her sister truly had changed for the better. Before having gone into her palace, Sae might have forced a smile or on the rare occasion even given a genuine one, but Makoto couldn’t remember the last time she had seen her sister actually laugh.

“You know, it’s weird.” Makoto said. “I thought leaving would be sadder.”

“Goodness, Makoto.” Sae said. “I’m only going to be an hour train ride away.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Makoto said. “It used to be really lonely here. Even when you came home, it never felt like we were a family. And now that I’m leaving… we’re finally one.” Makoto turned away, hoping the tears welling up in her eyes wouldn’t be visible. “Oh sis, I hope you’ll be okay.”

“I’m the one who should be saying that.” Sae said. She moved forward and wrapped her sister in a hug. Makoto froze. When was the last time her sister had embraced her? “I’ll only be an hour away. I’ll be sending you money every month. There’s also a bunch of pots and pans in your moving boxes. I don’t want you eating out all the time.”

“I know, I know…” Makoto said. “I know how to cook.”

“Also…” Makoto froze, knowing full well what was about to come next. “About your boyfriend…”

“I’m not going to ignore studying for him, sis.” Makoto said, though she did not add that since she was going to be living closer to him that she definitely would be spending more time with him than Sae might like.

“I know, I know. And you’ve grown. I’m not going to tell you who not to spend time with. He’s a good man. It’s just…” Sae sighed as she looked at her phone. “Would you please ask him to stop calling me sis?”

Makoto took a moment to register the information before bursting into laughter. “Oh my… I can’t believe him.” Sae gave Makoto a look to show how unamused she was, but it didn’t stop Makoto’s laughter. “Do you really think asking him is going to do anything but encourage him more?”

Sae gave a world-weary sigh. “Look, before you go, come down to the front of the house, there’s something I want you to see.”

Makoto paused before finally following her down the stairs. Sae wasn’t really someone who really did ‘surprises’. Birthday gifts were the closest Sae ever came to such a thing and those were always on the practical side. The most memorable was probably the particularly expensive calculator that she had gotten when she was fifteen. Makoto was never ungrateful for any of the gifts, but the idea of some spontaneous surprise was new to Makoto.

Then she walked out the front door of their home.

“Oh my god, sis.” Makoto said. “This must have been a fortune.”

“Nothing compared to the college funds.” Sae said. “Besides, you’ve earned it.”

Makoto walked towards her gift: A 2017 Kawasaki Ninja. A motorcycle, a real one and not just a product of the metaverse. Colored silver and looking like the sleekest thing this side of the cognitive world. She stroked the top of the bike and trembled a little.

“Sis, you don’t have to worry about Akira anymore.” Makoto said, not taking her eyes off the bike. “This is the love of my life now.”

“I’m really not sure that’s much better.” Sae said, a weary sigh coming from her. “I just figured it would be better to get this for you rather than worrying about you subsisting on ramen to buy one for yourself. Don’t think I didn’t notice you working to get that advanced license.”

Makoto’s caressing of the motorcycle paused. “Oh… uh… you found out about that? I was… going to tell you, I promise.”

Sae shrugged. “It’s certainly not the biggest thing you’ve kept from me.” she said. “Besides that van might be good for getting your friends around but I think something smaller and more gas mileage would be better.” 

“I guess we should get our stuff over first though.” Makoto said, her gaze still fixed on the motorcycle.

Sae raised her arms in disbelief. “I swear, you’re like a child with a new toy.” she let her arms down once again. “Here’s an idea. We’ll get the van packed up and then I’ll drive it to your new apartment and you can take your motorcycle for a spin.”

“Are… are you sure?” Makoto tried not to sound too excited. It didn’t seem like she was successful, considering the exasperation on Sae’s face.

“Let’s just get the van loaded before I change my mind and return the blasted thing.” Sae said. “And make sure to wear a helmet!”

“Got it, sis!” Makoto said, heading up the stairs.

“And obey all the traffic laws!” Sae yelled. “Do you know how bad it would look for me if my sister were to get a speeding ticket?”

“I got it!”

.----

Makoto did wear her helmet, as well as a leather jacket. Not as a fashion statement, so much as that driving on the road at 80 kph meant that it was going to get chilly really fast. The look didn’t hurt though. She would never admit it to Akira, but she had always been flattered by his compliments of her in her metaverse outfit, to say nothing of the way he would make glances at her when he thought she didn’t notice. Makoto had already ridden a motorcycle in the metaverse, but that had been another part of her. It hadn’t been something she had to learn. 

It did help though.

Makoto decided to take backroads rather than the expressway, deciding the extra bit of time would be worth it to have the free space and maybe test out how her new bike handled a few curves. There was a level of exhilaration to riding her bike in the real world that she was still new to her. Sometimes she had gone into Mementos to drive Johanna on her own but it didn’t compare to the much more real rush of the wind or the smell of the ocean wafting in. Fantastic things may have indeed happened in the metaverse, but the experiences in the real world were just so much more fulfilling. Here Makoto could let the senses overtake her, forgetting anything but the speed and the wind and the smell.

Makoto’s mind was always racing. Always looking toward the future. Even after she had become a phantom thief, her mind had always been overcome with plans and strategies. She was concerned with what her goal was, where she was going, what backup plan she had if her current plan failed, and how to compensate. Even after becoming a phantom thief, she had become the brains of the operation more than anyone. The process might have been more democratic than when Sae had directed her life, but Makoto had been the one who, more often than not, was guiding everyone. Even after she had realized how much her life had been railroaded, her mind always found its way to the future. What did she want to be? How would she get there? Truth be told, it was starting to drive her a little insane.

Here out on country roads, speeding along, she had only one goal: Get to the next point. Just keep moving. Keep your eyes on the road and on how you feel. You’ll reach your destination if you don’t lose that focus and keep yourself in the now. The closest Makoto ever had to that was back in Mementos, battling shadows. Then the only thing that mattered was what was right in front of her. Makoto wasn’t bloodthirsty, nor did she particularly miss having her life be constantly in danger. Even so, there was something to be said for the clarity that a life-or-death situation could provide. Nothing else was important at that moment.

Unfortunately the peace was not to last. Makoto heard the bluetooth in her helmet go off and reluctantly answered it.

“Oracle to Queen, Delta Niner. Are you in the clear?”

“Futaba, this is a basic cell phone and I’m not talking in code.” Makoto said. “Besides, what does Delta Niner even mean?”

“I see Joker hasn’t cleared you on the codes then.” Futaba said. Makoto had her doubts as to whether any such codes existed. “I suppose this one time I could break protocol.”

“You are really way too into this whole master planner thing.” Makoto answered.

“You will be silent until the briefing is concluded, meatbag!” Futaba countered. “I am in control of the very ether in the air for I am the very spirit of the phantom thieves!”

“...you haven’t had a lot to do over the summer have you?” Makoto asked.

“I’m so boooooored.” Futaba said. “Haru took forever to get this info. It’s a big deal too! And she wanted me to tell you first!” There was a pause. “And you didn’t come over for Superhero time the last two saturdays! Those were the last ones we could have together!”

Makoto grimaced. “Sorry, I promise I didn’t want to miss it, but things got really hectic with college and moving. Finding an apartment took longer than we thought.”

“And Kyuranger was so good too!” Futaba continued, seeming not to have heard Makoto’s apology. “We got a whole bunch on Scorpio’s background and he had a whole heartbreaking reunion with Lucky! And the mech fight was so cool!”

“You know I’ve never been a big fan of the mech fights.” Makoto said. 

“Heresy!” Futaba cried. “Mech fights are an inherent element of the spirit of super sentai! Without it the show would be soulless!”

“It’s the same thing over and over again!” Makoto responded. “It doesn’t have any bearing on the plot! This is why I prefer Kamen Rider. It doesn’t waste time on… wait, why am I arguing about this? You said you had info.”

“We will have this discussion another day.” Futaba said, the determination in her voice unwavering. “But I suppose the details are important. I’ve been told you’re meeting with Joker tonight?”

She was. It had been months since the two of them had seen each other. “...You don’t have a camera installed in my apartment already do you?”

“Please, no need when I have your phones tapped.” Futaba replied. “Haru found a target for you pretty close to both you and Joker.”

The Phantom Thieves had been in contact even after the defeat of Yaldaboleth. They all agreed that work still needed to be done. They might have given humanity a fighting chance, but there were still far too many people who would lie, steal, cheat, and hurt others. The Phantom Thieves had done all they could in the cognitive world, but there was plenty still to do in the real world. With Haru’s connections and Futaba’s hacker skills they were able to find criminals that the law wouldn’t. Life unfortunately wasn’t an action manga and they couldn’t just go out and beat the bad guy with special techniques or a hadouken. For them it was about finding proof rather than defeating villains now. Video footage, documents, or some proof of their wrong doing. Then Futaba would leak it out through the internet. It very rarely led to legal action, but it did get the information out there and maybe people would react properly. At the moment Ann was working to uncover harassment claims at her modeling firm, Yusuke was looking into another counterfeit art dealer, and Ryuji was investigating drug deals going on in Shinjuku.

As for Akira and Morgana, Makoto would be meeting them tonight for the very thing that Futaba was calling about.

“Okumura Foods had a meeting with some other companies, looking into different venues for diversification.” Futaba said. “They met up with a Kirijo Group subsidiary.”

Makoto grimaced. Who hadn’t heard of the Kirijo Group? The company had a finger in every pie, from electronics, to fast food, to defense dealings. Makoto wasn’t in the least bit surprised that they had come within Futaba’s sights

“Oh jeez, what are they up to?” Makoto asked.

“Black ops deals.” Futaba said. “Selling surplus to mercenary groups. The actual deals are happening in Singapore, but they’ve got the money part going on here.”

“And I’m guessing you can’t hack them?” Makoto said. 

“It’s just… taking me longer.” Futaba said defensively. “It’s like they’ve got Section 9 defending it! I’ve been able to hack through the security of government agencies you know!”

“Trust me Futaba, I know you’re the best hacker around.” Makoto said. “So we’re supposed to go in and physically get the files?”

“Nah, they’re almost definitely not going to have a paper trail.” Futaba responded. “What I need is a back door. I’ve already sent Joker the program.”

Joker. They hadn’t gone by those names in months. Yet, he still came to mind so easily. Makoto even found herself thinking of him as Joker more often than as Akira. Was she alone in this? Who was she to Akira? Was she Makoto to him or was she Queen? Did the lines blur? Double lives were so confusing. No wonder superheroes were always complaining. 

“What I need you to do is get to a computer terminal at the Kirijo office.” Futaba said. “So long as it’s on and it has a port, the program should do the rest and I can get all the info.”

“Got it.” Makoto said. “Joker and I will be going in tonight at eleven. I’m assuming you’ll be up?”

“Please.” Futaba replied. “The really raunchy anime doesn’t even start until 2 A.M.”

“And I was wondering why otaku are always such zombies.” Makoto said

“There is one more thing.” Futaba said. “And it’s the most important part of this transmission.”

“And that is?” Makoto asked, already prepared for the worst.

“You gotta catch up on Superhero time!” Futaba pleaded. “Haru’s too busy and Ann won’t watch it with me!”

“How about Yusuke?” Makoto suggested. “I think he’d enjoy it!”

“Inari would be the worst ever!” Futaba said. “I brought him over to watch Gavan once and he kept on talking about the flawed color palate! The color palate! One of the best toku shows ever and he wouldn’t shut up about the color palate!”

“That… does sound like a Yusuke thing to do.” Makoto admitted.

“Pleeeeeaaaaaaasse!” Futaba said. “I can’t go back to talking about the shows on 2chan! I just can’t!”

“Alright! Alright!” Makoto said. “I was going to watch it, don’t worry.”

“Super Sentai and Precure too!” Futaba said. “You can’t just watch Kamen Rider!”

“Super Sentai and Precure too.” Makoto said in what Akira had called her ‘mom’ voice. “I’ll catch up after I pack up.”

“Oh man you gotta!” Futaba said. “Wait until you see what’s going with Scorpio! It’s nuts! You see- wait I can’t spoil it for you! You’ve gotta find out yourself!”

.-----

Unpacking had only taken an hour or two. Makoto didn’t need a lot to make a place feel like she could live there. It was a small apartment that was only a ten minute drive from campus. (assuming traffic didn’t get too bad) It wasn’t particularly big but Makoto also needed a particular amount of room. She had a bed, her dresser, a bookshelf packed with numerous books and manga, a TV, and a game console. The last was a gift from Futaba along with a handful of games. Makoto didn’t have the heart to tell her that the console would probably be mostly used as a DVD player. Makoto rarely had time for video games and if she was being honest with herself, she didn’t really ‘get’ them. Hopefully Futaba wouldn’t ask too much about the games that have been lent to her. 

All that was left to unpack was her clothing. Makoto didn’t have a lot of clothing, though shopping trips with Ann had made it so that she had more than she could possibly need. Makoto also wondered when she was ever going to have an occasion to wear things like these. Fancy, expensive, and far more glamorous and daring that Makoto would ever feel. Ann had pressured her to buy dresses that barely counted as underwear and tops that Makoto was sure needed tape to avoid public indecency charges. Still, Ann had been so insistent on her getting these clothes and Makoto hadn’t been particularly eager to leave them lying around back home for Sae to see. Maybe Akira would like to see her in them? The thought made her shiver and she wasn’t sure if it was a good one or a bad one.

Finally, she came to the outfit she wanted to hide the most from Sae. It was probably the best outfit she had gotten thanks to Ann, something she had been able to get made because of her friends in the modeling industry. Makoto wasn’t certain exactly what line of reasoning Ann had pushed through to get these made, but Makoto had long learned not to underestimate the forceful charms of Ann Takamaki: A Femme Fatale that would use blunt force trauma where many others would use a scalpel. 

It was a perfect replica of the leather biker outfit she wore in the cognitive world and this would be the first time she would be wearing it in the real world. There were two things that she was realizing upon having to actually manually put it on for the first time. The first was that the outfit was complicated. Straps and buttons hooking together meant that it took time to put on. The other was that leather was warm. Makoto could already tell that this was not going to be the most comfortable outfit to wear during a summer night in the city. She was going to be drenched in sweat before this night was done. Finally, there was the scarf. She was a bit more aware of its presence now and the immediate worry was if it would get caught on something. In the cognitive world she didn’t have to worry about the real world concerns of an outfit, but now she was realizing the impracticality of the whole thing. She wondered after tonight if she could talk to Ann about modifications. 

She afforded herself a look into the mirror and studied herself. She had never gotten the chance to see what she had looked like in the cognitive world in a full sense and this was the closest she would probably ever get. She had been complimented on the outfit by everyone and looking at it she was suddenly even more embarrassed by those comments. The outfit was… rather form-fitting. It wasn’t anywhere near as daring as Ann’s but it was still something that showed off more of her than she was used to. Makoto wasn’t sure if all the compliments she received made things better or worse.

“Oh no, Morgana.” Came a voice. Makoto quickly turned around to see Joker perched on her open window. “It’s one of the phantom thieves and who would have thought it was Police Commissioner hopeful Makoto Niijima?”. Think we should call the police?”

“Joker!” Makoto said. “How did you get in here?”

Joker was perched on the window of her apartment in his own phantom thief outfit, giving her that devil-may-care smile and himself wearing a replica of his outfit in the cognitive world. Morgana was crouched next to him, and jumped down, only to come to Makoto and rub against her legs. Makoto gave a sigh and knelt down to pet him. H

“Morgana checked it out earlier. Found out how to get the window open.” Joker said. “We both figured you could use a surprise. Also, we came with a gift.” Joker came down from the window and pulled a jump drive from his jacket.

“You know, when most guys in long distance relationships see their girlfriend, they bring flowers or a plushie.” Makoto said, taking the jump drive.

“Well, I’m not most guys.” Joker said, moving in close and grabbing her by her hips. “And you definitely aren’t most women.”

Makoto hoped the mask was hiding the blood rushing to her face. “Oh? And what am I then?” She would always try to banter back with him now, but was never particularly good at it. She had always been bad at talking to people, and Joker had a way of saying things that would make her racing mind stop dead.

“The greatest of the phantom thieves.” Joker said. “Because you’re the one who stole my heart.”

And there it was. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she knew that her mask was nowhere near big enough to hide how red her face was. Still, she worked to maintain her composure.

“How long did you work on that one?” Makoto asked, deciding not to let Joker know exactly how much she was enjoying this. If she did, Joker would just press further and never let up.

“Oh but when my Queen is involved, it’s never work.” Joker leaned in for a kiss and Makoto leaned in as well without thinking, her mind giving into her heart and her desire.. Their lips touched and Makoto let herself go for that instant. Makoto would never cease to be amazed by how Joker could both excite her and calm her by his presence, make her feel so strong and yet so protected. She really did make her feel like a queen.

After what felt both like an eternity and nowhere near enough time, Makoto broke the kiss. “You know, I don’t think Futaba will be too happy to be kept waiting because we were making out all night.”

“Business before pleasure, huh?” Joker said. “So what exactly are we looking for this time?”

“Evidence of black market deals with some less than savory countries.” Makoto said. “Nukes.”

“Nukes? Jeez, who deals in nukes these days?” asked Joker. “Kind of quaint isn’t it?”

“They still get the job done, don’t they?” Makoto said. “It’s the Kirijo Group. Those famous humanitarians.”

“Every corporation’s like that.” Joker said. “The brighter the photo, the darker the negative.”

“Deep.” Makoto said. “You pick that up from Sun Tzu?”

“Batman, actually.” Joker said. “Yusuke leant me some of his comics and American cartoons. But what’s the plan?”

“Futaba will be able to open a door for us into the place, but she can’t get the data itself from their computers.” Makoto said. “The file on this will open up a backdoor for her to get it.”

“Can’t imagine security will be that lax.” said Joker.

“Doubtful.” Makoto said. “Kirijo’s also got the most cutting edge in robotics and A.I. tech so we’ll probably also have to deal with those.”

“So a couple of robots and drones. Hardly the worst we’ve ever had to deal with.” Joker said. 

“When we had our personae.” Makoto said. “Going in with just brass knuckles and a pocket knife won’t be quite the same.”

“If all that made a difference was our powers,” Joker said. “We would have all been dead in the first palace.”

“Or sold…” Makoto said. She held back a shudder. As prone to overthinking as she was, she couldn’t help herself from wondering what happened had Kaneshiro had his way. How worse her life would have been, what would have happened to her if she had never met the phantom thieves…

Had never met Akira...

“You’re doing it again.” Joker said, his gloved hand touching her cheek. She gave a blink, as though he had suddenly appeared in front of her.

“That obvious, huh?” Makoto said. “I can’t help it. You saved my life Joker, you know that?”

“And you’ve returned the favor so many times, my queen.” Akira responded. Not Queen, but my queen. Why did something so simple make her feel so adored? “It’s in the past. It can’t hurt you now. We’re together now. We’re stronger together.”

Makoto leaned her head against him. She was stronger. Akira was right. They were stronger. Not by some magical force of love, but because their love for each other made them realize how strong they were, because they would make each other stronger.


	2. Like Before, But Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Queen and Joker start their first new mission, but find more than they bargained for.

Futaba’s plan was simple, which was fortunate. The fewer moving parts something had, the less Makoto had to worry about. Sneak into the a minor Kirijo facility in downtown Tokyo, find a computer connected to their network, and upload the virus that gave Futaba a backdoor, and then sneak right back out. Haru had gotten plans for the building, Futaba had developed the program, and now it was up to Queen and Joker to go in and get that back door. It wasn’t exactly the treasure in the souls of a human being, but after their last adventure, Queen would have to get used to something a little more low-stakes.

Joker clung to her on the motorcycle. The man was playing it cool, but Makoto could tell he was just a little bit nervous. It might have been a little selfish, but she cut corners a little tighter than she needed to so she could feel him squeeze even harder. Maybe it was petty, but it also felt some nice retribution for making her blush like that. 

The financial district was silent at midnight. No cars, no people, no cops. After all, why would there be? There was nothing to steal here.

Not if you were after money, anyways. 

Makoto hid the motorcycle in the alleyway. She didn’t put any anti-thieving tools on it. They were already cutting it too close not having a getaway driver. However, Joker and Queen were the only ones that could make it down here. Yusuke was busy working to get an arrangement at an art gallery, Haru had another business meeting to go to, Ann was halfway across the country on a modeling shoot, and Ryuji had taken up a part-time job to take care of his mother. Truth be told, Queen was worried. Ryuji was shutting himself away, working two jobs, and whenever it came up, Ryuji unsubtly tried to change the subject. Haru had offered to help him with anything he needed. Any expenses Ryuji needed would have been a drop in the bucket. Futaba had also hinted that she could make a few hundred thousand yen mysteriously land in his bank account, but Ryuji was thick-headed and prideful, making it clear any kind of charity would be unforgivable.

Queen couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by that. Hadn’t they been through enough that helping each other was anything but charity?

Fortunately, they still had their girl in the chair. Futaba lived for this stuff. Both of their ear pieces went off.“This is Oracle. Joker, Queen, can you read me?”

“Coming in loud and clear, Oracle.” Queen said.

“I hear you, red.” Joker said. Queen wished Joker would keep to protocol more, but Queen knew if she objected, he’d do it even more as a matter of principle. 

“Alright, Joker you have the skeleton key card I gave you? And the jump drive?” Oracle asked.

Joker quickly pulled out a thin plastic card and a small black rectangle. “Right here.” he said, before pocketing them again.

“I hope you realize I can’t see what you’re doing in the real world, right?” Futaba. “Ooh ooh, maybe you should buy me a drone and I can provide even more support while you’re doing these missions.”

“And what would you do when we go inside a building, like we’re just about to do?” Makoto asked.

“I would… uh… I’ll figure it out!” Futaba said. “Alright guys, third floor. They’re a minor Kirijo subsidiary, but they still have access to their mainframe. You make me an opening with that virus, I can get in.”

“Got it.” Joker swiped the card on the security reader. “No alarm.” 

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Futaba asked. “Of course there’s no alarm!”

“Let’s not get too cocky.” Makoto said. “There might still be guards or security drones. Stealth mode should still be the way to go.”

“Sure thing, Queen.” There was a flirtatious note to the way Joker would say Queen that always flustered her. She wondered if there was any name she could have taken on that Joker wouldn’t have turned into a flirtatious pet name. There was a part of her that wished he could be more professional on the job and not have to be distracted by his feelings for her. 

Not a large part, though.

There were no lights on in the building. Turning on the lights would be too risky. Queen and Joker would have to go on darksight. Queen briefly wondered if there could be some way to install small night-vision goggles onto her mask. She had seen the bulky things that cops and soldiers would wear in action movies, but surely technology must have moved forward? It was a moot point right now. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness, but Joker’s eyes either adjusted far more quickly or he was just that reckless, because he was already creeping forward. It was fifty-fifty. 

“Joker!” she hissed. “Not so fast! We don’t know what could be ahead.”

“Relax.” He said, softly. “It’s me, after all.”

That did it. 

“Identify yourself!” came a monotone voice. Queen turned towards the voice to see two bright eyes functioning like flashlights. The room they were in became illuminated, showing them to be at the back of the office area of the building. Standing back between the rows of cubicles was a human-shaped figure. It was dressed in all black and held a pair of tonfa, only its flashlight eyes showing through its black costume.

“Identified.” It said in that still monotone voice. “Unauthorized access. Intruders. Leave or prepare to be pacified.” It moved forward.

Queen didn’t hesitate as it barrelled for Joker. She didn’t have the raw power that she had in the cognitive world or a Persona to back her up, but she did have her training in aikido and the grit that months of life or death situations had given her. That person -Queen was pretty sure it was a machine- moved forward with a lot of power, but with no concern for their footwork. They weren’t balanced properly. “Joker, back!” she cried and she charged and moved down.

Joker was impulsive and dicked around, but he trusted and worked completely with Queen. He stepped back, barely dodging the robot’s tonfa. It had over-extended, and that was where Queen came in. She dove forward and landed a low kick at their legs. Her foot connected with what definitely didn’t feel like flesh and bone and a jolt of pain shot through her foot. Physics still applied to it, even with a pair of metal legs, and it fell forward. As it fell, Joker followed up with a blow to its head with his knife. It cut though the black cloth the figure was wearing, but as Makoto suspected, the knife hit metal, making an unpleasant scraping noise as it did. It did an unnatural looking kipp up and turned to Joker. The tonfa started to glow and hum with electricity as it went towards Joker. Joker bobbed and weaved. The robot was sturdy and fast, but not quite as flexible as Joker, who managed to duck and weave like a gymnast was crossed with a boxer. 

Makoto took advantage of their opponent’s distraction and threw a punch towards one of its arms, moving for the elbow. Her brass knuckles came into contact, creating a metallic crunch. The arm crumpled and started sparking, then stopped moving.

Unfortunately that punch also hurt pretty bad. Makoto knew that punching metal would hurt, but hadn’t seen an alternative at that point. The gloves were padded enough to keep her hands from being scraped or punctured, but the blunt force of the punch still went through her arm, making it numb. Makoto stepped back and started rubbing it furiously, working to get circulation flowing once again. 

The robot turned around and its glowing eyes faced Makoto. Joker himself took advantage of the distraction to stab the bot in the neck. It barely even acknowledged the blow as it turned the tonfa in the other hand towards Makoto. Rather than dodging, she raised her right arm and pushed against the machine’s, slipping past his tonfa and knocking it to the side. Unfortunately, the robot’s knee came forward and got her in the gut, knocking the wind out of her. She staggered back as the robot came forward. It moved its functioning arm once again. She rolled down and forward, charging down, taking advantage of the fact that it was off balance. She put her weight on it to pin it down and put both hands to restrain its working arm. It strained against her and she knew it wasn’t long before it threw her off. As she struggled, she saw the point on its neck where Joker had struck before. His knife had made enough of an impact to expose a little bit of wiring. 

“Joker, his neck again!” she yelled. Joker charged forward without hesitation, striking downwards, point first with his knife, right towards the exposed wiring.The knife sparked as it punctured the wiring but Joker kept driving it forward. As the knife dug in, the machine started to spasm until it finally stopped moving. Finally, the lights in its eyes died and the electric tonfa died down.

Makoto got off the machine and stood up. “Was… was that a robot ninja?” she asked.

“More like a robot non-ja.” Joker responded. “Shame what people think a ninja is like nowadays.”

“Can you be serious for a minute?” Makoto responded.

“Thirty seconds is my limit.” he said, refusing to take off his mischievous smile even after that encounter.

In truth, Joker’s ability to remain blase and flippant in this situation was comforting. The adrenaline was running out and Makoto was beginning to feel the pain in her hand as well as fatigue from that rather brief fight. She got so much more tired so much more easily when she wasn’t fueled by cognitive rage and righteousness. She realized she was breathing hard when her bluetooth activated again.

“Joker, Queen come in!” Futaba’s voice was in both their ears. “Did something happen?”

“We ran into a hostile.” Makoto said. “There was a robot guarding this place. A pretty advanced one at that too.”

“The Kirijo Group does have a significant robotics division so that checks out.” Futaba said. “Still, we chose this office building because it was just a nondescript subsidiary. What’s a robot guard doing here?”

That was an excellent question. However at the moment, they had to move. Security was tighter than they had expected and that couldn’t be all. “Let’s get going. Where’s the main terminal?” Makoto asked.

“Third floor. Branch manager’s office.” Futaba said. Queen and Joker shared a nod as they raced up. The manager’s office was easy enough to find, being the biggest office there, but of course it was locked.

“There’s no lock to pick.” Joker said. “I don’t think the keycard Oracle gave us will work on this one.”

“Stand back.” She pivoted into a heavy stance and her foot crashed into the door, blowing it off its hinges.

“Don’t you think they’re going to notice the door being knocked down?” Joker asked.

“There’s a demolished robot on the first floor.” Makoto said. “I think subtlety is a moot point now.”

“True, and I can’t say that seeing that wasn’t kind of hot.” Joker said.

It was dark in the office, so Joker couldn’t see Makoto give another deep blush. Subtlety had never been Makoto’s particular forte, so honestly having some straightforward stuff to do. And it was also nice to have a man who didn’t find her power or strength intimidating or unsexy. Makoto had heard and seen all too often of men who would not want a girl who was smarter or tougher than them, to the point where she was wondering if she would be single for the rest of her life. 

Then Akira came along. 

Makoto shook her head. This wasn’t the time to be daydreaming about her gorgeous, charming, and considerate boyfriend. She came up to the computer and turned it on. She was prepared to crack the computer but to her surprise, it didn’t even have a password. “Are you kidding me?” she said.

“Guess they figured that no one was getting past the robot.” Joker suggested.

“Alright, Oracle. We’re at the terminal. What do we do?” Makoto asked.

“Just put the drive in. I made it easy as possible. The program should start as soon as it connects.” Makoto complied as she put the drive into the nearest port. “How long will it take-”

Joker held up a hand. “Do you hear that?” 

Makoto was silent. She did hear it. The whirring of multiple mechanical devices. “Drones.” she said. “Probably armed with something. Oracle, how long do we need?”

“About three minutes.” she answered. 

That’s when multiple drones flew in. About five at Makoto’s immediate count. There might have been more, but Makoto didn’t have time to count, as what looked like the prongs of taser shot out at her. She dived down as the next one started aiming at her with what Makoto was pretty sure was a gun turret. Makoto didn’t wait to see whether or not they had rubber bullets and barreled forward, narrowly missing the spray of bullets coming for them. She pulled back her arm and punched the drone, sending it crashing against the wall. It then fell to the ground, motionless. 

She didn’t have time to celebrate as she noticed another drone come right behind her. It was too close for her to dodge, but she felt wind breeze past her ear as Joker’s knife flew at it, striking one of its propellers and causing it to careen out of control, catching one of the other drones in its spray. 

“Get out of here, Queen!” Joker said. “I’ll hold them off!”

“You’re insane if you think I’m leaving you for a moment!” Queen responded.

Joker dived for his knife and took it to another drone as even more came into the increasingly cramped room. “You’re not leaving me, you’re getting us ready to go!” he responded. “Trust me!” 

Those two words were ones Makoto could never refuse. She gave a quick nod before charging out of the room, taking time to give another drone coming in a nice hard punch. She got to the stairs and didn’t even bother with them, jumping over the railing and rolling as she fell three floors to the ground. She heard the drones buzzing above, no doubt looking for the other intruder. She charged back towards her bike and started it up as quickly as she could.

“Oracle, tell Joker I’m at the bike!” Makoto said. “I’m coming.”

“He needs thirty more seconds, but I’ll tell him!” Futaba answered. “Get your butt over there!”

Makoto revved her motorcycle and drove forward, seeing the office building Joker was still in, praying he was okay. The time was almost up as she drove forward, expecting him to run out the door. 

That was when she heard the shattering of glass from above. 

Joker had jumped out through the window. 

“That reckless idiot!” Makoto cried to no one in particular. She moved her motorcycle forward, doing the only thing she could think to do. She tried to get under him to catch him. The roar of her cycle pierced the night as she raced against gravity to catch up. She was just in time as he landed right behind her, the back of the bike seat between his legs. 

“Owwww.” he said, groaning in pain. His jacket had a bunch of holes and cuts that revealed countless bruises and shallow cuts. “I hope you didn’t want kids.”

“Joker!” she said. “How could you do that? Do you know how stupid and dangerous that was?”

“Well, yeah.” Joker said. “But I trusted you. We’re not done yet.” He pointed upwards as several drones came flying towards them. Makoto revved her motorcycle again and drove away at full speed.

“Really wish we had real guns now and not just models.” Joker said. “How’s the license coming? Cops can carry, right?”

“Now’s not the time!” she cried as she got onto the freeway. The drones still followed her. One was even firing, though she was moving too fast for it to get a good lock. “What can we do?”

Between the wind and the roar of the Ninja, Makoto could barely make out the word Joker had said, but she had heard it say it so many times before, a word that was the closest thing he had to a prayer. She could never mistake him saying it.

“Persona.”

Makoto didn’t see what was happening, but she felt the rush of power, a feeling she couldn’t forget as Joker summoned Arsene. Cursed bolts of magic rush out, striking the drones down almost immediately. 

“We’re safe.” Joker said. He sounded exhausted. “Let’s get out of here.”

Makoto still drove, but she wasn’t having this. “And when exactly were you going to tell me you still have your Persona?” she asked. “I thought you lost it like the rest of us.”

“When it became relevant.” Joker said. “Like right now. And… it’s a long story. And I am very tired.”

Makoto grimaced as Joker held her. As much as she loved him, she did not like secrets being kept from her. Did he not trust her with his secrets? And truth be told, she was also a little jealous. She was happy they’d won, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t miss the power, or the ability to do good with that power. She had to put that aside for the moment.

“Fine.” she bristled. “You can tell me when we get to my place.”

And an awkward drive home began.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the beginning of a fic I've started that I've been working on. I've found that often times when fics get longer for me I lose motivation, so this time I decided to split it up into multiple parts and post them as I finished so I could use that as an encouragement to finish it eventually. I wanted to explore the romantic character dynamic between Akira and Makoto, as well as their dynamic as phantom thieves. There wasn't the action or adventure the tags advertise, but that's coming next chapter, promise.


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